Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Takes Position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired 7,607 shares of Equinix, Inc. for approximately $6.2 million in the 1st quarter, contributing to a high level of institutional ownership which stands at 94.94% of the stock.
• Equinix reported $9.91 EPS in its latest earnings, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.49 and achieving a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.5%.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $4.69 per share, representing a dividend yield of 2.4%, with a notably high payout ratio of 183.74%.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,607 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,202,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EQIX. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Equinix by 127.8% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 41 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Equinix by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services increased its holdings in Equinix by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 38 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Equinix in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on EQIX shares. New Street Research upgraded Equinix to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. BNP Paribas upgraded Equinix to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wolfe Research cut shares of Equinix from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Equinix from $935.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Equinix from $904.00 to $961.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equinix has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $959.86.

Equinix Price Performance

Equinix stock traded up $6.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $779.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 324,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,025. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.90. Equinix, Inc. has a twelve month low of $701.41 and a twelve month high of $994.03. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $823.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $849.99.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $9.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $6.42. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.26 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 7.22% and a net margin of 11.11%. Equinix's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.22 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $4.69 per share. This represents a $18.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Equinix's payout ratio is currently 183.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In other news, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $869.41, for a total transaction of $86,941.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,569 shares in the company, valued at $15,274,664.29. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $884.91, for a total transaction of $2,609,599.59. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 9,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,508,409.65. This represents a 23.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix Company Profile

Equinix Nasdaq: EQIX is the world's digital infrastructure company . Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.